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Intrepid class (light cruiser)
The Intrepid class was a United Earth starship class, a light cruiser class in service to United Earth Starfleet in the 22nd century. The Intrepid class saw service in the Earth-Romulan War. Following the formation of the United Federation of Planets in 2161, the Intrepid-class light cruiser remained in production as Federation Starfleet class, of the UESPA branch. (''ENT'' episode & novelization: The Expanse, ST reference: The Official Starships Collection #44, ST reference: Federation: The First 150 Years, ''ENT'' - Rise of the Federation novels: A Choice of Futures, Live by the Code) History The Intrepid class was one of three ship types, including the , launched in the early half of the 22nd century to defend Earth. It's design was compact and more primitive than the cruiser of the 2150s decade. It was a forerunner to the NX-class, but saucer design and general layout were similar. (ST reference: The Official Starships Collection #44) The Intrepid-class was intended as a backup, in case the Warp 5 engine program had been a failure, and the NX-class components needed to be re-purposed. But after 's success, Starfleet saw no reason to let their work go to waste, so the class's lead ship, , was commissioned by 2153 under the command of Captain Carlos Ramirez. (''ENT'' - Rise of the Federation novel: A Choice of Futures; ) :The Official Starships Collection'' and Rise of the Federation differ on whether the Intrepid-class preceded or succeeded the launch of Enterprise.'' In the 2150s, its primary mission was to form the space defense of the Sol system and United Earth's extrasolar colonies on Alpha Centauri, Deneva, Terra Nova, and Vega. (ST reference: The Official Starships Collection #44) In 2155, during the Earth-Romulan War, Prime Minister Nathan Samuels decided to shut down production of both the Intrepid and NX-class in favor of the . This change was implemented because Starfleet could only build one NX-class vessel for every two Intrepid-class vessels and every three Daedalus-class vessels, making it more efficient to build the Daedalus-class vessels. (''ENT'' novel: Beneath the Raptor's Wing) After the Earth-Romulan War and the formation of the Federation, the production on the Intrepid-class had been resumed, and the existing ships underwent refits. (''ENT'' - Rise of the Federation novel: A Choice of Futures) As part of UESPA Chief of Staff Admiral Jonathan Archer and Alpha Centauri Chief of Staff Alexis Osman's fleet modernization program, a new wave of Intrepid class vessels were under construction by 2165. (''ENT'' - Rise of the Federation novel: Live by the Code) Specifications This class was fitted with phase cannons and torpedo launchers. ( ) The Intrepid class was 165 meters long. (ST reference: The Official Starships Collection #44) An elliptical deflector dish was integrated into the front of the saucer, where the leading edge had been cut out. It was flanked by sensor pallets. The engines were housed in a shortened engineering section. Impulse engines were attached to the rear of the saucer, and nacelle pylons with one nacelle each were mounted on the engineering section. These nacelles were shorter than their NX-class counterparts, and overlapped with the primary hull. (ST reference: The Official Starships Collection #44) Due to the heat emanating from the bussard collectors, storage rooms were placed in the saucer sections beneath them. Cooling fins were attached to the rear of the nacelles. (''ENT'' - Rise of the Federation novel: A Choice of Futures) In the early 2160s, the Intrepids were refitted. The engine cores were replaced, which enabled them to reach the speed of warp 5.6 for a limited time. Other new technologies were installed as well, including deflector shields and tractor beams. (''ENT'' - Rise of the Federation novel: A Choice of Futures) The engine room was similar to that of the NX-class, but smaller than on the starship. (''ENT'' - Rise of the Federation novels: A Choice of Futures, Uncertain Logic) Ships of the class *''Intrepid'' *[[USS Pioneer (NCC-63)|USS Pioneer]] (NCC-63) *''Republic'' (NCC-415) *unnamed Category:Earth starship classes Category:Federation starship classes Category:Terran Empire starship classes